


This December

by LordOfVibes



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Upside Down, Bisexual Dustin Henderson, Bisexual Lucas Sinclair, Bisexual Mike Wheeler, Christmas Party, Coming Out, Eleven | Jane Hopper & Jim "Chief" Hopper Parent-Child Relationship, Eleven | Jane Hopper-centric, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gay Will Byers, Good Parent Jim "Chief" Hopper, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Underage Drinking, Inspired By This December By Ricky Montgomery, Inspired by Music, Jane Is An Artist, Jane is Hopper's Biological Daughter, LGBTQ Themes, Lesbian Maxine "Max" Mayfield, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Mike Wheeler Being an Asshole, Multi, Pansexual Eleven | Jane Hopper, Pining, Skateboarding, Sleepovers, Snow, Snowball Fight, Songfic, Takes place in December 2017, The Party Isn't Straight, The Party's 16, The older kids are like 19-20, There's gonna be some time inconsistencies so be prepared, Will Byers & Eleven | Jane Hopper Friendship, Winter Break, because why not??, pansexuality
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-15 02:48:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28556391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LordOfVibes/pseuds/LordOfVibes
Summary: "I'm alright if you're alright""And I'm okay if you're okay"It's Winter Break in Hawkins. Two weeks to do whatever the fuck you wanted. The adventures of Jane Hopper and her friends during Winter Break.
Relationships: Dustin Henderson/Lucas Sinclair, Eleven | Jane Hopper & Jim "Chief" Hopper, Eleven | Jane Hopper & Mike Wheeler, Eleven | Jane Hopper/Maxine "Max" Mayfield, Jonathan Byers/Steve Harrington/Nancy Wheeler, Joyce Byers/Jim "Chief" Hopper, Will Byers & Eleven | Jane & Dustin Henderson & Maxine Mayfield & Lucas Sinclair & Mike Wheeler, Will Byers & Eleven | Jane Hopper, Will Byers/Mike Wheeler
Comments: 3
Kudos: 25





	1. December 23rd

Jane woke up. She rubbed her eyes, sat up, and stretched her arms. Then she remembered something. 

That day was the first day of Winter Break. She had two whole weeks where there was no school and she could do whatever she wanted with her friends. Jane smiled. 

Jane rolled over and grabbed the spiral notebook that was sitting on her nightstand. She also grabbed the pencil that was sitting right next to it. She sharpened the pencil with her electric pencil sharpener and flipped to a blank page in the notebook. 

Jane was going to make a list of all the things she wanted to do over the break. There were definitely some things that she wanted to get done. 

The first thing that came to her mind was _Break up with Mike._ Mike was her boyfriend. They had been together for about two years, but Jane had simply just fallen out of love with him. She hadn’t broken up with him before because she was a coward and didn’t want to ruin their friendship. But she needed to get that done. 

The second thing she wrote down was _Come out._ Jane was pansexual. She had known that for a while now, but hadn’t told anyone except her father. Jim was very supportive, luckily, but she didn’t know about her friends. But hey, if they weren’t supportive of her, then they weren’t her real friends. 

_Draw more_ was the third thing on the list. Jane loved to draw, and she would say that she did well. But she didn’t have much time too with all of the school and homework she had to do. With nothing to do, she could draw some more. 

Then Jane wrote down _Confess to Max._ Max was a girl that moved into Hawkins about a year ago and quickly asserted herself into their friend group just because Lucas and Dustin had major crushes on her. Jane at first didn’t like her but over time she grew fond of the redhead. A little too fond, Jane realized later. She definitely had a crush on Max. But she needed to dump Mike first, if she didn’t that would be a bit awkward. 

After thinking for a moment, Jane wrote down _Help Dad propose to Joyce._ Joyce was Jim’s girlfriend, and Will’s mom. Jane knew that Jim had bought a ring for Joyce and wanted to propose to her, but was too scared and didn’t know how. Lucky for Jim, Jane was a creative genius and could definitely work up a spectacular proposal plan for her father. 

After not thinking of anything for minutes, Jane decided that if she thought of something else she’d write it down. She got out of bed and walked to the bathroom to brush her hair. Then she headed to the dining room, where she was surprised to see an Eggo Triple Decker Extravaganza sitting on the table. Jim was sitting in his recliner, grinning. 

Jane was too shocked to move or say anything. “Thought I’d make you something special for the first day of Winter Break,” Jim said. 

“Thank you,” Jane said, then sat down to eat her breakfast. 

Jim laughed. “You’re welcome.” 

It wasn’t much later when Jane’s plate was completely empty. Jim looked at her in astonishment. “Wow, you must’ve been hungry,” he said. 

“Yeah,” Jane nodded, taking a drink from the glass of milk that was sitting right next to the plate. Then she got up and carried her plate to the sink, rinsing it before placing it in the sink with the rest of the dirty dishes. 

As Jane walked into the living room, Jim asked “So, you’ve got two weeks where you have to do absolutely nothing. You got any plans with your friends?” 

Jane shook her head. “Not yet,” she answered. “I should look for something for us to do.”

“Good idea,” Jim said. He got up from his chair. “I’m gonna go take a shower. I’ve got to get to work in an hour. I trust you to be safe here by yourself.” 

“I will, don’t worry,” Jane said. Whenever she didn’t have to go to school and Jim had to go to work, she just stayed at the apartment by herself. She was very responsible and Jim trusted her to be. 

As Jim took his morning shower, Jane finished her glass of milk, then went back to her room to think of things that her friends could do. They liked to spend a lot of time at the arcade on the weekends, but they did do that a lot. Then, she remembered something. There was a theater in town that Jane hadn’t been to in a long time. Maybe they could see something there? Jane turned on her phone and looked up the list of movies playing in that theater. 

After some scrolling, she decided on the new Wonder Woman movie. She had always liked Wonder Woman, she even owned a few comics. She thought that her and her friends would like the movie, especially Max. Max also loved Wonder Woman, she was actually the one who got Jane into her and got Jane her first comic. Maybe the two could go. That sounded fun. 

Jane heard Jim get out of the shower. Just as he got dried off and dressed, she hurried to meet him at the doorway. 

“Wait, before you go, Dad,” Jane said, which stopped Jim from walking. “I was wondering if I could go to the movies with Max.” 

“Max, huh?” Jim raised an eyebrow, smirking. Jane knew how much Jim hated Mike. She could tell he was glad that she wasn’t hanging out with him as much. “Aren’t you still dating Mike?” 

“I am, but I see him a lot,” Jane shrugged. “I want to hang out with some of my other friends over Winter Break, not just Mike.” 

Jim thought for a while. “We haven’t been to the movies in a while. That sounds like fun,” he said, then fished out twenty dollars from his wallet and handed it to Jane. “Here, go have fun with Max.” 

Jane smiled. “Thank you!” she said, hugging her father. 

“And don’t use this money for anything but the movie, okay?” Jim asked. 

“I won’t, I promise,” said Jane. 

“Now, I’ve gotta get to work,” Jim said, and Jane pulled out of the hug. “Bye,” he opened the door. 

“Bye Dad! Love you!” Jane went up on her tiptoes to kiss her father’s cheek. 

Jim smiled back at his daughter. “Love you too,” he said before walking out the door, calling one last “Bye!” before he went out of sight. 

Jane watched her father drive out of the parking lot, then headed back to her room. She grabbed her phone and texted Max. 

Jane: Hey, you wanna go see the new Wonder Woman movie with me today? Dad gave me some money. 

Max: Sure!! Sounds like fun!! 

Jane: Great!! :D So, are we gonna get the tickets beforehand or when we get there?

Max: Hmmm… I think we should get them when we get there. 

Jane: Good idea! When do you want to go? 

Max: Anytime works for me. How about noon? 

Jane: Noon sounds good! See you then! 

Max: Hey, I’ll pick you up about that time. We can drive there together!

Jane: That’s a good idea! You know where the apartment building we live in is? 

Max: Yep! Still remember. 

Jane: Then I’ll see you then!!

Max: :)

Jane: :)

To pass the time until Max got there, Jane decided to fufill something on her list already and draw. She grabbed her sketchbook and a pencil. The sketchbook she had was almost completely covered but she found a blank spot. Her mind on superhereos, she drew one of her other favorite superheroes, Black Widow. 

Just as she was about to color her drawing, Jane heard a knock on the door. She immediately assumed it was Max and got up to open the door. It turned out that she was right, it was Max. And Jane had somehow forgotten how beautiful Max was. When Max smiled, Jane’s heart was in her throat. 

“Hey,” Max greeted. 

“Hey,” Jane responded. 

“So, are we gonna go see this movie?” Max asked. “I’m excited! Are you?” 

Jane nodded. “I’m pretty excited too,” she admitted. “Well, let’s go!” they both laughed. 

Jane and Max walked out to the parking lot and climbed into Max’s car. They sang along loudly to the radio and laughed all the way there. 

They finally got to the movie theater. Jane got their tickets and Max was getting popcorn and candy. When Jane turned around, she noticed a group of people she didn’t expect to see there “Shit,” she muttered under her breath. 

It was Mike, Will, Lucas, and Dustin. Yeah, Jane was still friends with them, but she kind of wanted today to be a Jane and Max day. She didn’t want to see her boyfriend. 

Dustin was the one who noticed Jane. He smiled and waved, which caught the other three boys’ attention. Jane reluctantly walked over. “Hey, wasn’t expecting you guys here,” she said. 

“Me neither,” Mike said. “We all just wanted to see the new Wonder Woman movie together.” 

Jane forced a smile and a laugh. “Well, that’s a funny coincidence, because me and Max are too,” she pointed to Max, who was just finishing up getting the snacks. When she noticed that Jane was talking to the boys, her smile dropped. 

“What’s her problem?” Mike asked. 

Jane shrugged. “Like I said, we weren’t expecting you guys here.” 

“But you’d still want me to be here, right babe?” Mike placed his hand on Jane’s arm. She had almost forgotten that she was his girlfriend. 

Jane rolled her eyes. “Of course, babe,” she said before kissing him. The kiss had no emotion behind it, it was purely mandatory. 

Jane was shocked when she felt Lucas’ hand on her shoulder. He stood between her and Mike, looking at them both. “So, have you two… you know…” he said with a wink. 

Jane knew what he was talking about. She gagged, and Mike did the same. “No, gross!” she yelled. “None of us have!” she shoved Lucas’ arm. 

“We’re all virgins,” Dustin said. “Unless someone’s lying.” 

Before they could continue their conversation, Max approached the group. Her hands were full of drinks, popcorn, and candy. “What the fuck are you guys doing here?” 

“We just wanted to see a fucking movie, what’s wrong with that?” Mike said. Mike and Max hated each other. Jane rolled her eyes at their rivalry. 

Max decided to drop the question. “Never mind,” she shook her head. “Are you guys seeing the same movie as us?” 

“Yep,” Will nodded. “Wonder Woman.” 

At that moment, Jane got an idea. “Why don’t we all see it together? We can all hang out, the six of us!” 

“That sounds like a good idea!” Dustin said. Lucas and Will nodded. 

Max and Mike weren’t so on board with the idea. “Sure, why not?” Max shrugged, and Jane was just glad she agreed. 

“Okay,” Mike said. “Now I can spend some more time with my girlfriend,” he slipped his arm around her waist and got a little too close for comfort. 

“Get off me,” Jane demanded, and Mike did just that. “We’re around other people,” 

“But you said you two haven’t fucked,” Will said, which shocked everyone. Will was never one to curse. 

“We haven’t,” Jane insisted. “Now, let’s go see this movie! You guys get your tickets, I’ve got mine and Max’s,” she held up the two tickets she just bought. 

Mike was the one who paid for the four’s tickets. They also got themselves some popcorn and drinks like Jane and Max did. The six went in at the same time, all of them giggling quietly. There were luckily six empty seats right next to each other at a good distance from the giant TV. They all sat down in the seats as the movie began to start. 

The movie was good. Really good. Jane liked it a lot. Action-packed, funny, emotional, powerful. She could tell the others also really liked the movie. 

When it was done, the six headed out of the theater together. Jane couldn’t take her eyes off Max. She was so full of energy, beaming and bright. Before Max could take notice of her staring, she looked away. Confessing would wait for another day. Jane pulled out her phone and texted her father. 

Jane: Hey Dad, can Max stay over tonight? After the movie, I had the idea of maybe having a sleepover at the apartment? 

Jim: Sure, just make sure you two don’t break anything. 

Jane: We won’t, we promise ;)

Jane pulled Max away from the group without the others noticing. “What is it?” Max asked. 

“So uh,” Jane started. “You wanna sleep over at my place tonight? My dad said it’s okay if you do.” 

“Yeah! Let me just ask my parents,” Max pulled her phone out and texted someone. A few minutes later, she looked back at Jane and smiled. “They said it’s okay if I do!”

“Great!” Jane said. “Well, bye guys!” she waved to the group and started to walk to Max’s car with Max, but Mike stopped her. 

“Hey, where are you going?” Mike asked. 

“Max’s staying at my house tonight,” Jane explained. 

Mike grabbed Jane’s arm. “Why aren’t you hanging out with me more?” 

Jane took Mike’s hand off her arm. “What, can I not hang out with my other friends?” she asked. 

“Yeah, can she not?” Max asked Mike.

“Yeah, but-” Mike started, but someone cut him off. 

“Mike, please,” Will said. Mike looked at Will, then back at Jane and Max, and sighed. 

“Alright. Love you,” he kissed her cheek. 

“Love you too,” Jane replied flatly. “Bye,” she waved to the others, who waved back, and walked off with Max to her car. 

“Man, what is his deal?” Max asked. They both laughed. 

As soon as they entered the apartment, Max placed a hand on Jane’s shoulder. “Hey, are you okay?” 

“Yeah, why?” Jane asked. 

“It’s just,” Max took her hand off Jane’s shoulder. “Mike seems like a real shitty boyfriend. He acts like you belong to him or some shit.” 

Jane laughed. “Yeah, he really does act like that,” she admitted. “I just fell out of love with him, I guess. He’s still a good friend, he just… I don’t know. He just changed whenever we got romantically involved.” 

“I bet he was a great friend,” Max tried to sound like she believed that, but Jane could tell she was pretending. “Hey, why don’t we order a pizza! A little treat for us!” 

“Ooh, pizza sounds good,” Jane licked her lips. "Wait, you have money?” 

“No, but we’ll steal some from your pops!” Max said. 

Jane was worried. “We really shouldn’t do that. Here, I’ll ask,” she pulled her phone out of her pocket. 

“Ugh, fine,” Max groaned and rolled her eyes. “You really shouldn’t ask for his permission about everything, y’know.” 

Jane ignored her and texted her father. 

Jane: Hey, sorry to text you again, but can we order a pizza? The movie was great btw! 

Jim: Sure! You two have fun, kiddo! 

“Dad says it’s okay,” Jane told Max. 

“Great!” Max got out her phone and began to order. They agreed on pepperoni and sausage. Max wanted stuffed crust but Jane didn’t, but after some arguing they agreed on no stuffed crust. 

While they were waiting on the pizza to arrive, they looked on Netflix for a movie to watch. They agreed on watching the Avengers. 

“He’s really hot,” Jane said, about Thor. 

“Yeah,” Max replied, but something in her voice was uncertain. But she corrected herself. “No. I-I actually don’t see it.” 

“You don’t have to lie about your taste,” Jane comforted. “Everyone has their own preferences-” but she was interrupted. 

“I don’t see it in any man,” Max said. 

Jane was confused. But then she thought of something it could be. “So, you don’t like guys?” 

Max nodded, tears welling up in her eyes. “Yeah. I’m a lesbian,” 

So Max liked girls! Jane had an actual chance with her! But Max then started actually crying. “I get it if you don’t accept me, I know I’m not normal-” 

“No, no, no, no, no!” Jane interrupted, pausing the movie so they didn’t miss anything. “I accept you! You’re perfectly normal! You’re still Max, my best friend!” she hugged Max, who hugged back. 

“I’m your best friend?” Max asked. “Not Mike, or Will, or Dustin, or Lucas?” 

“Nope,” Jane shook her head. “You are.” 

Max smiled back at Jane. “You’re my best friend too, Jane. Thank you so much for accepting me,” they pulled out of the hug. “I just- I had never told anyone before, I was so scared that you’d be homophobic.”

“No, definitely not!” Jane shook her head again. “It’s perfectly normal. You’re still my best friend.” 

Jane would’ve come out in return, but she stopped herself. She didn’t really know why, but she did. 

Max leaned her head on Jane’s shoulder, and Jane’s heart skipped a beat. “Now, Black Widow’s the real hot one!” 

Jane laughed. Max continued “And did you see Wonder Woman earlier! Oh my god she’s so fucking pretty.” 

Jane wished she could say the same, because she really wanted to, but she just laughed at Max’s jokes. She grabbed the remote and pressed play again. 

Not long after that, the pizza came. The two girls just laughed and talked and watched the movie and ate pizza. It was the funnest time she had had in awhile. God, Jane loved Max so fucking much. She just wished she had the balls to actually say it. 

Just as the movie was ending, Jim opened Jane’s bedroom door. “Hey girls,” he greeted. 

“Hey Mr. Hopper,” Max said back. 

“We just got done watching Avengers,” Jane explained. 

“Cool. Well, I hope you two had a fun time. Heard Wonder Woman was really good!” Jim said. 

“Yeah, it was,” Max said, and Jane nodded. 

“Well, I’ll leave you two alone,” Jim started to close the door again, but didn’t close it all the way. “Three inches!” he shouted. 

Jane laughed. “I know!” she shouted in return. 

Jim smiled at Jane and Max laying in bed, then walked away probably to his recliner or to bed. 

Since Jane and Max weren’t really tired, they decided to start Avengers: Age of Ultron. But when the movie ended, both girls were fast asleep.


	2. December 24th

Jane woke up with her face buried in Max’s hair. She opened her eyes and sat up, trying not to wake Max. The TV was off. Guess Jim must’ve turned it off while they were asleep. She slowly crawled out of bed and walked to the bathroom to get herself ready for the day. 

When Jane walked back into her room, Max was awake. Her red hair was a mess. She smiled. “Morning,” she said. 

“Good morning,” Jane said back. 

Max yawned. “We must’ve fallen asleep during the movie.” 

“Yeah,” Jane said. “I think Dad turned the TV off.” 

Jane snorted, and Max raised an eyebrow. “What?” she asked. 

“Your hair’s a mess,” Jane explained. “It’s standing up.” 

Max ran a finger through her hair. “Yeah. That happens when I sleep. One of the cons of having long-ass hair.” 

Jane laughed. “Is your dad up?” Max asked. 

“Let me check,” Jane stepped out of her room quickly. Her dad was sitting at the dinner table, drinking a cup of coffee. He noticed Jane.

“Morning,” Jim greeted. “Is Max up?” 

“Yeah,” Jane said. 

Jane looked back into her room. “He’s up.” 

Max got up off the bed. “I’m gonna go brush my hair,” she said and walked off to the bathroom. 

Not long after, Max came out of Jane’s room. “Morning Mr. Hopper,” she yawned. 

“Morning Max,” Jim said. “Did you have a good night’s sleep?” 

Max nodded. “Yeah. Jane’s bed is comfortable.” 

“Well, good,” Jim smiled. “Max, when are your parents coming to pick you up?” 

“I don’t know,” Max said. “I’m guessing 10? 11?” 

“You want breakfast?” Jane asked. 

Max rubbed her stomach. “Yeah. Pretty hungry.” 

“I am too, to be honest,” Jim got up from his chair. “I’ll make waffles. I know you had those yesterday Jane, but I know you don’t get sick of them.” 

Jane shook her head. She knew her father was right. “Yeah. Waffles are my favorite food.” 

Later, Jim walked out of the kitchen with two plates of waffles in his hands. He set them down at the table and went back into the kitchen to grab the third plate and the syrup bottle. 

As they ate, Jane asked “So, when are you gonna propose to Joyce?” 

“Wait,” Max set her fork down. “You’re proposing?” she asked Jim. 

“Yeah,” Jim admitted. “Figured it was about time. I just don’t know how, though. I asked Jane to come up with some ideas.” 

“Yeah, he did,” Jane nodded. “Haven’t really thought of anything.” 

“Well, I’ve got an idea,” Max said right after swallowing her last bite of waffle. “There’s this lights show in the town just over they do on Christmas Eve every year. Really pretty. Maybe you could propose there?” she suggested. 

Jane remembered something. “Oh, it is Christmas Eve today! Christmas is so soon!” 

“Hmm,” Jim said. “So that means that I’d have to propose today.” 

“Yeah, but I bet it’ll be great,” Jane said, placing a hand on her father’s shoulder. “You love Joyce, and Joyce loves you. She’ll definitely say yes no matter how you propose.”

“Yeah Mr. Hopper,” Max nodded. “I bet she’ll love it.” 

“That sounds like a good idea, Max,” Jim said. “Thank you. I’ll talk to Joyce about it.” 

“You’re welcome,” Max said. 

Around 10, Jim had to leave for work. “I think your parent’s will be here pretty soon, Max. It was good seeing you. Jane,” he turned to Jane. “I love you. I’ll see you after work.” 

“Love you too Dad,” Jane smiled.

“Bye girls!” Jim called and waved before shutting the door. 

Jane and Max watched Jim’s car drive away. Right as Jim’s car left the parking lot, Max’s mom’s car drove him. “Oh shit, that’s her,” Max said, turning to Jane. “Uh, this was a ton of fun,” she said before hugging Jane. Jane froze, unable to move for a second.

Max pulled out of the hug. “Bye!” she shouted, opening the door. Max smiled and waved right before closing the door, Jane smiling and waving back. 

A few hours later, Jane’s phone rang. She picked it up and saw that Mike was calling. She sighed and put the phone up to her ear. 

“Hey,” she heard Mike’s voice through the phone. 

“Hey,” Jane said in return. 

“So, uh, I wanted to apologize about yesterday,” Mike said. 

Jane was shocked. This was the first time Mike had ever apologized about anything like this. 

Mike continued. “I know that I was being a jerk and a pervert to you. I’m really sorry. I shouldn’t act like I own you. You are your own amazing person.” 

Jane smiled, suddenly feeling very sorry for her boyfriend. She was reminded of why they were friends in the first place, and why Jane didn’t want to stop being close with him at all when they broke up. “It’s okay. I forgive you.” 

“I love you, you know that?” Mike asked. 

Jane nodded. “Yeah, I know that. You tell me a lot.” 

Mike laughed. “So, since we’re talking, you wanna go on a date? I really don’t know where we’d go or what we’d do, but I wanna see you-” 

“Sorry,” Jane interrupted. “My dad’s gonna get home soon. Me, him, and Joyce are gonna go to a lights show nearby and Dad’s gonna propose.” 

“Your dad’s proposing to Joyce?” Mike asked. “Wow, congrats! Will’s gonna be your step-brother!” 

“I know,” Jane couldn’t believe it either. “I love you.” 

“Love you too. Bye,” Jane was about to hang up, but Mike quickly cheered “Oh, Merry Christmas Eve!” 

Jane laughed. “Merry Christmas Eve!” she cheered back. “Bye,” she hung up the phone. 

What Jane told Mike about the lights show was only partially a lie. It was true that they were going today, if Joyce wanted to. Again, only partially true. Jim was gonna get home in a few more hours. 

Like Jane said, a few hours later Jim got home. “So, did you ask Joyce about the lights thing?” she asked.

“Yeah, I did,” Jim nodded. “She said she’d like too. Also said that she’d ask Will and Jonathan if they wanted to go too.” 

Jane pumped her fist and mouthed “Yes,” Will was probably her best friend if she wasn’t counting Max. The two were really close and became even closer when Jim and Joyce started dating. Jane also liked Jonathan. He was really cool. 

When the sun was starting to set outside, Jim told Jane “Yeah, Will and Jonathan will be coming. Joyce said that they’d like to too.” 

“Great!” Jane cheered. She grabbed her phone and texted Will. 

Jane: Heard you’re coming to the light show thing with me, my dad, and your mom. 

Will: Yeah. Thought it sounded fun. 

Jane: Well, my dad’s proposing there. 

Will: Your dad’s proposing to my mom? Really? 

Jane: Yep. 

Will: AWESOME!! Can’t wait! We’re gonna be step-siblings! 

Jane: I KNOW!! Make sure to tell Jonathan without your mom hearing. 

Will: I will. I can’t wait even more now! 

Jane: See you then!! :D

Jane bounced up and down when she saw Joyce’s car pull into the parking lot. She slipped her shoes on and ran out there. As Joyce climbed out of the front seat, Jane gave her a big hug. 

“Oh!” Joyce said in surprise. “Hey sweetie.” 

“Hey Joyce,” Jane said. She pulled out of the hug. “I’m really glad you’re coming with us.” 

“Oh, I’m glad I’m coming with you too,” Joyce said, then she noticed Jim. “Hey babe.” 

“Hey honey,” Jim approached Joyce. He tipped up her chin and kissed her on the mouth. “Merry Christmas.” 

Jane walked over to Will and Jonathan, who were talking by the car. “Hey guys!” she said as she hugged Will. “Merry Christmas!” 

“Jane, it’s Christmas Eve,” Jonathan corrected. Jane rolled her eyes and Will laughed.

Jane walked over to Jonathan. “So, how’s college?” she asked. 

“Pretty good so far,” Jonathan answered. “I like it a lot.” 

“So, uh,” Jane leaned in. “Did Will tell you?” she whispered. 

Jonathan nodded. “Yeah, he did,” he whispered back. 

“Great,” Jane said, now at regular volume. “Oh, I can’t wait!” she squealed. The Byers brothers laughed at her. 

“Calm yourself,” Will said. “You don’t want to give it away.” 

Jim and Joyce walked over to the kids. “Well, are we gonna go or what?” Jim asked. 

The five of them loaded into Jim’s car. Jim drove and Joyce sat in the passenger’s seat. Jane volunteered to sit in the middle seat with Will and Jonathan on either side of her. Her, Will, and Jonathan talked the entire ride. 

Once they were there, Jane got why Max said it was so pretty. There were lights strung everywhere. Across the building and the trees. It was mesmerizing. It almost distracted Jane from how cold it was outside. 

Jane shivered. “It’s cold,” she said. “Glad I brought a coat.” 

“Yeah,” Will nodded. He was also, luckily, wearing a puffy coat.

Jonathan immediately noticed Nancy and Steve from across the parking lot getting out of Steve’s car. Nancy was Jonathan’s girlfriend and Mike’s older sister. Steve was Nancy’s other boyfriend. Jane sometimes found their relationship confusing, with Nancy dating both Jonathan and Steve but Jonathan and Steve not dating each other (though it being painfully obvious that Jonathan has a crush on Steve, one that he won’t admit to). 

Jonathan pointed at Nancy and Steve. “Hey Mom, can I go hang out with them?” he asked. 

“Sure, honey!” Joyce shot her son a smile and a thumbs-up. 

Jonathan smiled and walked off to talk to Nancy and Steve. Jane and Will watched him walk off. 

“You think he’s finally gonna ask out Steve?” Jane asked. 

“Why would he ask out someone that he hasn’t even realized he’s in love with?” Will asked. Him and Jane laughed. 

Jane and Will just sat together and watched the lights. They were also playing music, which they sang and danced along too. After a while, Jane realized that she didn’t know where Jim and Joyce were, but she saw they come around the edge of the building, talking and holding hands. Jim broke away from Joyce and walked towards Jane and Will.  
“Do you have the ring?” Jane asked her father. 

Jim nodded and stuck his hand in his pocket, supposedly where the ring was. “Yeah, I have it. I just- I don’t know if I’m ready-” 

“Look,” Will said. “You love her, she loves you. Nothing can go wrong. She’s going to say yes no matter what, I know it. You’ve got this.” 

“Yeah,” Jane smiled. “You’ve got this, Dad.” 

Jim sighed. “Thank you guys. I know she’ll like it. It’s time,” he said before joining Joyce again. 

The two walked another lap around the building before Jim stopped walking. Jane and Will looked at each other and smiled. 

“Uh, Joyce,” Jim started, grabbing Joyce by the arm. “You know that you’re amazing and the love of my life, right?” 

Joyce laughed. “Yeah I do,” she nodded. “You’re amazing too. So amazing.” 

“Yeah,” Jim was clearly awkward. Jane hoped he didn’t fuck this up. “You mean everything to me, and you are- you are my life, Joyce. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” 

Joyce shook her head. “Why are you saying all of this?” she asked. 

“Shit,” Jim muttered under his breath. Jane and Will watched, intrigued. He pulled the ring out of his pocket and got down on one knee. Joyce froze in front of him, her jaw hanging open. “Joyce Byers, perfect woman and love of my life, will you marry me?” 

“Oh my… wow,” Joyce said. She was too shocked to say anything. 

“So, is it a yes or no?” Jim asked. 

Joyce nodded. “Yes, yes, it’s a yes!” she cried, tears running down her cheeks. She ran into Jim’s arms, hugging him. Some people had noticed and began to clap. Jane hugged Will, her new step-brother. 

“Merry Christmas,” Jane said to Will. 

“Merry Christmas Eve,” Will corrected, causing Jane to snort. 

Jane looked across the parking lot, trying to block her vision from Jim and Joyce’s passionate kissing. She saw Jonathan, chilling with Steve and Nancy. Jonathan raised an eyebrow and mouthed “Did it happen?” 

Jane nodded and gave him a thumbs-up. Jonathan did the same thing back. 

Jane looked back at Jim and Joyce, who were now heading over towards him. “Did you guys know about this?” Joyce asked. Jane and Will nodded, giggling. Jane noticed the new ring on Joyce’s finger. 

Jonathan had made it over to the group. He hugged Joyce, then Jim, then both Jane and Will at the same time. “Hey, new older step-brother,” Jane said.

“Yeah, I guess so,” Jonathan nodded. “Well, we’ll have to wait until after the wedding for us to be actual step-siblings.” 

“True,” Jane admitted. 

“Can I see the ring?” Will asked. 

“Sure!” Joyce stuck out her hand, showing the ring to them. Jane had already seen it, but it still looked so pretty. “It’s pretty, ain't it?” Joyce asked like she had read Jane’s mind. 

“Yeah, it is,” Jonathan nodded, and Will did the same. 

“God, I’m so happy,” Joyce said. She wrapped her arm around Jim’s waist, leaning her head on his shoulder. “Now we’re all one big family.” 

“Yeah,” Jane said quietly to herself. “Family.” 

After that, Jane and Jim headed back to their apartment. Jane yawned and stretched. “I’m gonna go ahead and go to bed,” she said. “Night Dad. Love you.” 

“Love you too sweetie,” Jim waved before collapsing onto his recliner. 

Jane fell asleep with a smile on her face, thinking about the new family she had gained that day.


	3. December 25th

Jane woke up and immediately remembered. It’s Christmas. She gasped and smiled. 

Jane decided to get extra ready that morning. Brush her hair a bit neater and wash her face. She looked at herself in the mirror. “Looking good,” she told herself. 

Jane peeked her head out of her room. She saw the glowing tree and the presents sitting underneath it. Her smile grew wider and her heart started racing. 

Jim noticed Jane. “Merry Christmas,” he said. 

“Merry Christmas,” Jane nodded, not believing that today was the day. 

“You wanna get out here?” Jim asked, motioning towards underneath the tree.

Jane nodded and stepped out of her room. She sat on the couch next to her father. “Do you have the donuts?” she asked.

“Yep,” Jim said. “You wanna go ahead and eat breakfast?” 

Jane vigorously nodded. “Yes,” she said. 

Jim laughed. “Okay, I’ll go get them,” he said, getting up off the couch and walking towards the kitchen. 

Jane remembered something. “Oh, don’t forget the hot chocolate!” she called. 

“Don’t worry, I didn’t!” Jim called back. “I’ll make your glass for you!” 

“Okay!” Jane said. “Thank you!” 

Not too long after, Jim called from the kitchen “What kind of donut do you want?” 

Jane thought. Her and her father usually bought an assorted box of donuts every Christmas for them to eat on Christmas morning. They also drank hot chocolate. “I’ll have one of the iced ones!” she decided. 

“Okay!” Jim said. 

Jim walked in the living room with two plates in his hands. He gave Jane hers and sat down with his own, a cream-filled long john. They started eating and Jane couldn’t take her eyes off of the presents underneath the tree. 

After they were done eating, they rinsed their plates and Jane sat underneath the tree to open her presents. She couldn’t wait. 

Jane got lots of books. So many that when they were stacked on each other, they almost fell over. Jim knew how much his daughter loved reading and it showed. “Where are we going to keep all of these?” she asked. 

“You have empty shelves, right?” Jim said. 

Jane thought. She remembered that her bookshelves were completely stuffed. “I don’t think so,” she answered.

“Well, are there any books that you could maybe give away? Because you’ve read them all?” Jim said. 

Jane really didn’t want to lose any of her books, but that was an option. “I’ll look later,” she said. 

Jane also got clothes. She got hoodies and jeans and graphic t-shirts and even some dresses. Her favorite was a short black dress with colorful designs splattered across it that looked exactly like one that she had seen at the store and begged her father to let her buy, but Jim said no. Though Jane groaned at the thought of trying all this stuff on. She hated trying on clothes. 

Jane got some comics. Again, more books. She got various comics of various superheroes and superhero teams. She flipped through them, admiring the artwork. She then set them aside in a stack.

Jane cheered when she unwrapped some wrapping paper and underneath it was a new, clean sketchbook. “Thank you! I’ve been needing one of these!” 

Jim nodded. “Yeah. You told me that your old one was getting full so I thought I’d get you a new one. Also,” he pointed to a small gift bag sitting right next to where the wrapped sketchbook was sitting. “I think you should open that one next.” 

Jane did exactly that. In the bag was both a package of regular pencils and a package of colored pencils. “Thank you,” she told her dad. 

Jim smiled. “You’re welcome,” he said back. 

Jane’s favorite present of them all was a fluffy blanket. For one, it was the comfiest thing she owned. Two, the colors of the blanket were the colors of the pansexual pride flag, pink, yellow, and blue. She held it up against her face. “So soft!” she said. 

“I know, it is really soft,” Jim agreed. 

Jane noticed that that was the last present. She picked up the blanket and stood up. “I’m gonna go carry this to my room and then see if I have any spot for all my new books,” she glared at the stack of books on the floor. Jim said nothing but nodded in return. 

There was, in fact, open space on her bookshelves. Jane was surprised by that. She walked back into the living room and grabbed the stack of books. She shoved them into place on her shelves and then layed down on her bed, doodling her first sketch in her new sketchbook. It was of her father. Jim always said that her drawings of him were very accurate, but Jane didn’t think the same thing. She had always been very self-critical of her artwork, but she liked to draw, so she kept doing it. 

At around noon, Jane got a text from Mike. 

Mike: MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

Jane: Merry Christmas!!!!

Mike: What did you get? 

Jane: Books. Lots and lots of books. And a new sketchbook. 

Mike: Cool. I got a Nintendo Switch. 

Jane: Lucky!! :(

Mike: Hahaha

Mike: So, my parents are hosting a Christmas party today and I was wondering if you wanted to come? All the others will be there. 

Jane: Really? That sounds like fun! I’ll have to ask my dad! 

Mike: OK :)

Jane texted her dad. 

Jane: Hey Dad, the Wheelers are having a Christmas party at their house later today. Can I go? 

Jim: Sure sweetie! Have fun! :)

Jane clicked off of Jim’s contact and texted Mike again. 

Jane: He said I could. 

Mike: Awesome! See you there! Love ya <3

Jane: <3

When it was getting dark outside, Jane walked over to Mike’s house. They lived fairly close to each other so the walk wasn’t that far. It was pretty cold, so Jane wore one of her new hoodies over her new dress and leggings to cover her bare legs. While walking, Lucas’s car drove next to her on the road. She waved and he waved back. 

Jane got to the Wheelers’ house. Nancy opened the door. “Hey Jane!” she greeted. “Did Mike invite you?” 

“Yep,” Jane answered. 

“Great,” Nancy opened the door all the way, stepping out of the way so Jane could get inside. “Dustin and Lucas are also here. I’m pretty sure they’re hanging out in the living room.” 

“Thanks Nancy,” Jane said and walked into the Wheelers’ house. 

Jane had been multiple times. It was a nice place. Definitely bigger than her and her dad’s tiny apartment. When she was there other times, her, Mike, and their friends would hang out in his room. Guess they weren’t doing that just yet. 

Jane found Mike, Lucas, and Dustin sititng on the couch, talking and laughing. Mike noticed Jane. “Hey babe! Glad you could make it!” 

“Of course I’d want to come,” Jane said, and she meant it. She looked around at the extravagant lights all over the house. “Why’d you guys do this anyway?” 

Mike huffed and sat up. “My mom just thought it’d be nice to see everyone on Christmas.” 

“I get that,” Jane said, sitting down next to Dustin. “Are Will and Max here yet?” 

Lucas shook his head. “Nope,” he answered. 

“Can I tell you guys a secret?” Mike asked. The other three nodded and leaned in. “There’s alcohol in the house.” 

Dustin laughed. “Dude, there’s always alcohol in your house. Have you seen how much Mrs. Wheeler drinks?” 

“No,” Mike shook his head. “I mean that the alcohol is gonna be out of the cabinets. Nancy said her and her friends can drink some, but it’s off limits to us.” 

“So, you’re saying that you’re going to try and sneak some alcohol to drink?” Jane asked. She really didn’t like breaking rules, laws especially. 

“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” Mike said. 

“Awesome!” Lucas cheered. “I’ve never had alcohol before. I bet it’s gonna be too easy to sneak some into our hands,” he snickered. 

Suddenly, the four heard the door open. It turned out that Jonathan and Will had arrived. Jane sulked a little when she saw that Max hadn’t arrived. They watched Will head over to them while Jonathan walked off to do something else. 

“Hey guys,” Will waved. “Merry Christmas!” 

“Merry Christmas!” Dustin and Lucas cheered in unison. Will sat down next to Jane. 

“Hi,” Will said. 

“Hi,” Jane replied. 

“So, I heard that Jane’s dad proposed to Will’s mom, huh?” Lucas asked. 

Will and Jane nodded. “Yep,” Jane answered. “We’re gonna be step-siblings.” 

“Holy fuck!” Dustin yelled. “I didn’t know about any of this! When’s the wedding?” 

Will shrugged. “We don’t know.” 

“Dustin, you’re talking about this like we’re getting married,” Jane laughed. 

Will gagged. “That would be torture for you, wouldn’t it?” Jane asked. “Since you don’t like girls?” 

“Exactly,” Will nodded. The group laughed.

“Oh!” Mike remembered something. “By the way, I was texting Max earlier today and she said she couldn’t make it. Had to go visit her grandparents.” 

Jane’s smile dropped. She was really hoping to see Max today. “Oh. Okay,” she said. 

The group was shocked when they heard Mrs. Wheeler called from the kitchen “Dinner’s ready!” 

They all stood up from the couch. “Dinner’s pasta,” Mike explained. “Spaghetti, lasagna, ravioli,” he listed, making Jane even hungrier. 

“Mmm, that sounds good,” Jane said. “I like pasta.” 

The group made their way to the dinner table. Mrs. Wheeler had set out a buffet of sorts in the kitchen where people could walk in and load their plate. They got in line. Jane was the first of the group, right behind Steve. Will was right behind her. 

Jane loaded her plate with lasagna. It was her favorite type of pasta. She grabbed the parmesan that was sitting out and put some on it. She also put some salad on her plate. She walked out of the kitchen with her full plate and sat down on the couch. 

The lasagna was really good, as Mrs. Wheeler’s cooking always was. Will, with a full plate of spaghetti in his hands, sat down on the couch next to Jane. Dustin sat down on the recliner near the couch to eat his meal. She didn’t know where Lucas and Mike were. Then she remembered the thing about the alcohol. She couldn’t believe those dumbasses were actually doing that. 

Lucas came stumbling in, beer can in hand. Jane almost choked on her bite of lasagna, and Will’s eyes widened. Luckily, no one was in the living room except them so they weren’t gonna get caught just yet. “Dustin,” he said, speech slurred. “Duuusssstttiiinn.” 

Jane noticed that in Lucas’ other hand was mistletoe. Things clicked in her brain. She knew Lucas had a crush on Dustin. 

Lucas collapsed into Dustin’s lap. “Lucas!” he called out of surprise. “What are you doing?” 

Lucas took another drink of his beer and held the mistletoe above their heads. “Look up,” Lucas said. 

Dustin did just that. He froze when he noticed the mistletoe. “Oh my fucking god,” he muttered under his breath. “Lucas, you’re drunk.” 

“So?” Lucas put his hand on Dustin’s cheek. “I still wanna make out with youuuu.” 

Dustin sighed. He said nothing but placed his hand on the back of Lucas’ head and pulled him in for a kiss. Jane couldn’t help but smile. Will was frozen with shock next to her. She heard a quiet “Wow,” come from him. 

The two starting fiercely making out. Lucas climbed into Dustin’s lap and wrapped his legs around Dustin’s body. Their arms were everywhere, frenzied. But they didn’t do anything more than passionately kissing, which was good. 

Mike walked into the room. There was a can of beer in his hand, though by his posture and walk he was noticeably more sober than Lucas. He noticed Lucas and Dustin on the chair. “Oh my god,” he said. 

“Yeah,” Jane agreed. 

Mike turned his focus to Jane. “Hey, you wanna go up to my room?” he pointed to the stairs leading up to upstairs, where his room was. 

“Sure,” Jane nodded. They walked up the stairs and into Mike’s room. 

The two spent the rest of the night in Mike’s room. They just talked, made out, and played Mario Kart on his Switch. Mike asked if Jane wanted a drink of his beer, but she declined. Mike noticed that Jane was acting less happy than usual. “Hey, what’s wrong?” he asked. He was definitely more drunk than he was when they came up here. 

Jane shook her head. “Nothing.” 

“I know something’s wrong, babe,” Mike insisted. “I know you well.” 

Jane laughed. “You do,” she admitted. She sighed. “It’s just… I was really hoping that Max would be here.” 

“Max,” Mike repeated. “You’re always hanging out with Max instead of me,” he said, and Jane instantly regretted her decision. “Why? Why aren’t you hanging out with me lately?” 

“I see you a lot, okay?” Jane said. “I just want to spend time with people other than you, I told you this,” she was already feeling very awkward. 

“I haven’t seen you at all in the past month!” Mike screamed, his voice heavily slurred from all the alcohol. “It’s like you’re avoiding me! Do you not love me anymore?”

“I do still love you!” Jane yelled back, lying. She didn’t know why she lied, but she did. “I’m not trying to avoid you!” 

“Yes you are!” Mike screamed. He was crying, and Jane was starting to too. “You hate me!” 

“Mike-” Jane pleaded, but she was cut off by Mike’s drunken screaming.

“You hate me! I know you do, Jane!” he kept screaming, and Jane had had enough. 

Jane was now fully sobbing. She couldn’t keep it in anymore. She stood up. “You want me to tell you the truth? You really want me to tell you the truth, Mike? Fine! I’m not in love with you anymore! Haven’t been for a while!” it honestly felt good to get all of that off her chest. 

No more words came out of Mike’s mouth. Just sobbing. Heartbreaking sobbing. 

“That’s it! We’re done! I’m not your girlfriend anymore!” she finished, walking back towards the door. “Bye,” she said before running through the door. 

Jane ran through the party, loudly sobbing into her hands. She reached the door and opened it. She could hear Nancy call out “Jane-” before she shut the door and ran all the way home without stopping. 

Jane was too emotionally distraught to even care about stopping for breath. She only stopped when she reached the apartment door. She knocked, leaning against the door. She breathed heavily, still crying. 

Jim opened the door. He immediately noticed Jane’s state of despair. “Jane, are you okay?” he asked before Jane collapsed into her father’s arms. She couldn’t speak, only sob. “Jane, what happened?” Jim asked. 

Jane finally spoke. “Mike- we broke up- he yelled at me-” she said between choked sobs. 

Jim sighed. “Oh shit,” he muttered. “Oh, you poor child,” he hugged his daughter and walked inside with her in his arms.

They sat down on the recliner together. “I just-” Jane started to explain. “He lashed out at me, and I lashed out at him. I’m sorry-” 

“No,” Jim shook his head. “You don’t need to apologize, sweetie. It’s that asshole who needs to apologize to you.” 

Jane was about to contradict her father and tell him Mike was a nice person, but she stopped herself. She wanted to be mad at him for once. “Yeah,” she nodded. “But I don’t want to talk to him.” 

“You don’t have to talk to him,” Jim said. “I’ll talk to him myself-” 

“No, Dad,” Jane cut him off. “I want to talk to him. Please don’t talk to him for me.” 

Jim sighed and nodded. “Alright,” he said. 

Jane continued to cry into Jim’s shirt until she fell asleep in her father’s arms.


	4. December 26th

Jane woke up the most miserable she had felt in ages. She didn’t even sit up when she remembered what had happened at the Christmas party the day before. She closed her eyes again and tried to go back to sleep, but failed. She was too awake. So, she pulled out her phone and watched some YouTube. She didn’t want to talk to anyone at the moment, even her father. 

Eventually, Jim opened Jane’s bedroom door. “Hey,” he said awkwardly as Jane sat up and paused the video she was watching. “I just wanted to see how you were doing after last night.” 

Jane rubbed her eyes. “I’m good,” she lied. 

“Really?” Jim asked. “Are you sure?” 

Jane heaved out a sigh. “I mean, I’m just miserable. I don’t want to talk to anyone right now,” she explained. 

“Oh,” Jim said. “Not even me? Your own father?” 

Jane shook her head. She knew her father just wanted to help. “Not even you, Dad.” 

Jim nodded. “Alright,” he said. “Well, I’m heading off to work. Hope you feel better when I get home. We could maybe do something together then?” 

Jane thought about her father’s suggestion. “Yeah. I’d like that.” 

“Great,” Jim smiled. “Well, bye!” he called, shutting Jane’s bedroom door. 

“Bye!” Jane called back. 

At around noon, Jane finally got up from her bed to make some lunch. When she was carrying her plate to her bed, her phone rang. She set her plate down and picked up her phone. Will was calling her. Out of all the people she could talk to at the moment, Will would definitely be first. She held her phone up to her ear. 

“Jane!” Will asked. “Are you okay! I saw you bolt out of the party crying! What happened!” 

Jane appreciated that Will was so worried about her. “I’m okay,” she answered, grabbing her plate and setting it on her lap. “Things just happened.” 

“What things?” Will asked. 

Jane really didn’t want to get into it, but it would be good to tell somebody. “Me and Mike got into an argument and… we broke up.” 

Will gasped. “Oh my god, I am so sorry! Mike can be a jerk sometimes, I know, but-” 

“It’s okay, Will,” Jane interrupted. “I was the one who dumped him.” 

“Oh,” Will said. “So you wanted to break up with him?” 

Jane nodded. “Yeah,” she admitted. “I had been planning to do that for a while now, and really wanted to get it over with sometimes during Winter Break. I just didn’t want it to go how it happened.” 

“How did it happen?” Will asked, intrigued. “If you’re okay with explaining,” he quickly added. 

“No, no, I’m okay,” Jane said. “Remember how Mike and Lucas did the insanely dumb thing of drinking beer they had snuck past Mrs. Wheeler?” 

“Yeah, I do remember that,” Will answered. “That was insanely dumb.” 

Jane couldn’t help but snort. “Well, Mike invited me up to his room.” 

“I saw that,” Will said. “I was sitting right next to you.” 

“Right,” Jane remembered. “Sorry, I forgot. So we hung out there for a while, and he got drunker and drunker, and eventually,” she stopped. She would have to tell Will about the reason she was so bummed. About her crush on Max. 

“Eventually what?” Will asked. 

Jane gulped. She had to finish the story. “Mike asked why I was so sad, and I said…” she hesitated. “I said that I was bummed that Max wasn’t there at the party.” 

Jane waited for Will to answer, to ask about her feelings for Max, but he just said, “I get that, I was a bit bummed that she wasn’t there too.” 

Jane sighed with relief. She wouldn’t have to tell Will about how she truly felt about Max. “And he got a bit jealous, and yelled at me about how I didn’t love him anymore.”

“And that’s true, right?” Will said. 

Jane nodded. “Yeah, that was true, but I didn’t want to tell him that right to his face, you know? So he eventually broke me, and I told him that we were done, and I ran out of the house crying. And that’s what happened,” she finished the story. 

“Huh,” Will said. “I don’t get why Mike was so jealous. You were just hanging out with one of your friends?” 

Jane was silent. She wanted to tell him. She wanted to tell someone. “I think he knew that I liked her.” 

“Well of course you like her, she's your f-” Will abruptly stopped when he realized what Jane had meant. “Oh. You like her like that.” 

“Yeah, I do,” Jane admitted. “That was one of the main reasons I wanted to break up with Mike.” 

“I-I didn’t know you liked girls,” Will said. 

“I do,” Jane answered. “I’m pansexual.” 

“Okay,” Will said. “That’s cool.” 

Both didn’t know what to say for a while. “I bet even though you did want to break up with him, it was still hard,” Will said. 

“Yeah,” Jane said. “I mean, he’s still a good friend of mine, I still want to be his friend, he just wasn’t a very good boyfriend.” 

“I bet he was,” Will sounded let down. “And he didn’t deserve to lash out on you like that.” 

“I bet it was just the alcohol,” Jane said. “That wouldn’t have happened if he wasn’t fucking drunk.” 

“Well, it was bound to happen eventually. And you know Mike, you know he’d do that very stupid thing. I wonder if his parents caught him or not,” Will said. 

“I’m pretty sure they didn’t. Mike knows how to get out of trouble,” Jane said.

“I think you should talk to him,” Will suggested. “You said that you still wanted to be his friend, and he still is a good friend, so I think you should get the apology and awkwardness out of the way.” 

“No!” Jane screamed. She regained her composure. “Well, I don’t want to talk to him today. Yeah, what you said was true, I do still want to be his friend. He was one of my first friends. I just don’t want to talk to him today.” 

“I get that,” Will said. “But you should talk to him eventually.” 

“Eventually,” Jane repeated. 

“How about tomorrow?” Will asked. “You two could meet together somewhere and talk about how you two feel and hopefully still be friends.” 

Jane had to admit, that sounded like a good idea. “Yeah,” she nodded. “I’ll do that. Tomorrow. That sounds good. Thank you Will. Thank you for calling me.” 

“You’re welcome,” Will said back. 

“Well, I better get off. I’m gonna do absolutely nothing today,” Jane laughed. 

Will also laughed. “That sounds fun! Oh!” he suddenly remembered something. “Before you go, let me tell you, Jonathan finally realized he loves Steve.” 

“Finally!” Jane yelled. They both laughed. “Has he told him yet?” 

“Nope,” Will answered. “I honestly don’t know if he will.” 

“If he didn’t, it genuinely wouldn’t surprise me,” both laughed again. “Thanks for telling me, Will. We’ve been waiting ages for that to happen.” 

“We sure have,” Will agreed. “Whelp, better let you go do absolutely nothing. It was good talking to you! Bye!” 

“Bye!” Jane hung up the phone. 

As Jane set her phone down, she realized that she had never eaten the sandwich she had made for lunch. She quickly gobbled it up and rinsed the plate in the sink before making her way back to the bed. 

Jane didn’t lie, she did do absolutely nothing. She just laid in bed and watched YouTube on her phone. But, she did also start one of the books she had gotten for Christmas. She was already about halfway through it when Jim got home. 

“So I talked to Will,” Jane told her dad. 

“Really?” Jim asked. “Well, it’s good that you talked to someone today.” 

Jane laughed. “Yeah, I guess so,” she answered. 

“So, you up for hanging out tonight?” Jim asked. 

Jane smiled and nodded. “Yeah. Sounds fun.” 

The two played Monopoly and Clue. They talked and laughed and Jane had a really good time. It made her feel a lot better. She was going to talk to Mike tomorrow and make up with him. Hopefully he wouldn’t be really mad. She wanted to keep their friendship. She walked back to her room and fell asleep right away with a smile on her face.


	5. December 27th

Jane woke up content and fulfilled. She was going to talk to Mike today and hopefully they could still be friends. She really wanted to keep their friendship. 

Jane and her father ate breakfast together at the table. “Today I’m going to talk to Mike,” she told Jim. 

“Really?” Jim asked, and Jane nodded. “That’s good. You aren’t gonna get back together with him, right?” he asked, worried. 

“No, definitely not,” Jane shook her head. “He was a shitty boyfriend, but he’s a great friend, Dad.” 

“Alright. Thank you,” said Jim. “When? Are you guys gonna talk in person or not?” 

Jane tilted her head. “I don’t know,” she answered. “I would really like in person, but I don’t know where we would meet.” 

Jim sipped his coffee. “How about the arcade?” he suggested. 

Jane almost dropped her fork? “The arcade? You mean the one where me and Mike met?” 

“Yeah,” Jim confirmed with a nod. 

“But,” Jane shook her head. “That place closed, right?” 

“No, it didn’t,” Jim corrected. “It’s still open.” 

“Really?” Jane asked in disbelief. “I thought that place closed because no one goes there anymore. Arcades are kind of out of style, aren’t they?”

“I guess so,” answered Jim. “But it’s still open. Steve and his friend Robin work there.” 

“They do,” Jane suddenly remembered. “And we haven’t been there in a long time. That sounds like a really good idea,” she said right after finishing her bowl of Lucky Charms.

“How old were you when you two met?” Jim asked. 

Jane thought. “11? 12? Somewhere around there,” she answered. “We used to hang out there all the time.”

“So you’ll ask him to meet you there?” Jim said. 

“Yep,” Jane nodded. “I’ll go do that after you leave.” 

“I’m heading off to work,” Jim said. “Love you.” 

“Love you too,” Jane kissed her father’s cheek. “Have a good day.” 

“You have a good day,” Jim said. “And I hope your meeting with Mike goes well.” 

“Thanks. Bye!” Jane called and waved. 

“Bye!” Jim waved back until he closed the door. 

Jane flopped down on her bed and pulled out her phone. She texted Mike. 

Jane: Hey. You don’t have to respond to this, but I would really like it if we could meet together at the arcade later today. I want to talk about what happened. I hope we can still be friends. Please. 

Mike didn’t respond for half an hour, so Jane decided to draw in her sketchbook. She decided to draw Max. She had never drawn Max before, she realized. She wondered why she hadn’t before. Max was so beautiful. She needed to do her justice

Jane drew, as accurately as she could, Max’s beautiful, sparkling blue eyes and her red hair that flowed down her shoulders and her pale skin that looked so soft and her lips that looked so nice to kiss. Jane was a little too in love, she realized. Max was perfect. She didn’t deserve Jane. She really didn’t. 

Jane got a notification from her phone. Mike had responded.

Mike: Okay. That sounds good. How about 1? 

Jane: Okay, 1. See you then. 

Mike didn’t reply back. 

Jane eventually made it to the arcade. There was a girl at the front desk who she assumed to be Steve’s friend Robin. “Hello, welcome to The Palace,” Robin greeted.

“Hello. I don’t have any money,” Jane admitted. “I’m waiting for someone and meeting them here.” 

“Okay,” Robin said. 

Behind her, Steve came out from behind. He recognized Jane. “Jane! Hey!” he waved. 

“Hey Steve!” Jane smiled and waved back. 

Steve had made it to the desk. “I wasn’t expecting you here, you haven’t been here in ages!” 

“Yeah. My dad reminded me that this place was still open so I decided to come and meet someone here,” Jane explained. 

“You know her?” Robin asked Steve, pointing at Jane. 

“Yeah,” Steve nodded. “She’s friends with Jonathan, so I see her a lot.” 

“Okay,” Robin said. 

“Hey,” Steve leaned in over the counter. “Are you okay? I saw you run out crying at the party. What happened?” 

“I’m okay. It’s just,” Jane hesitated. “Me and Mike broke up.” 

“Oh my god,” Robin said. “I’m so sorry. Breakups fucking suck.” 

“Yeah,” Steve nodded in agreement with Robin. “And on Christmas too! Oh, that must’ve been horrible.” 

Jane smiled at how concerned Steve and Robin were. “I’m okay now, though. I’m actually meeting Mike here today. I wanted to formally talk to him. Apologize. Hope we can still be friends.” 

“Oh, okay,” Steve nodded. Robin nodded as well. 

Jane talked to Steve and Robin until Mike entered the arcade. Jane froze. She moved closer to him, and looked back over her shoulder. Steve and Robin were nowhere to be seen and probably wanted to give those two their space. “Hey,” she greeted awkwardly. 

“Hey,” Mike said back. 

“Um, let’s go outside. I want to have a little privacy,” Jane pointed to the door that Mike just walked out of. Mike nodded, and the two headed outside. 

Jane leaned against the wall of the arcade and looked at Mike. “Look, I’m sorry,” he started. “I know that won’t do it, but I just wanted to say that. I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry. I really am, Jane.” 

Jane sighed. “I get it,” she said. “I’m sorry too.” 

“Why are you sorry?” Mike asked. “I’m the one who needs to apologize to you. I shouldn’t have gotten drunk.” 

“You shouldn’t have,” Jane agreed. 

“It was stupid of me, I know. It wouldn’t have been so bad if I wasn’t drunk,” Mike said. 

Jane hesitated to speak. “But it was bound to happen eventually.” 

Mike nodded. “Yeah. It was.” 

Jane laughed under her breath. “I actually wrote a list of things that I wanted to do over break. Breaking up with you was on the list.” 

Mike bit his lip and nodded. “It shouldn’t have happened the way it happened though.” 

Jane nodded, and Mike continued. “I shouldn’t have lashed out. I shouldn’t have yelled at you. I shouldn’t have got so mad.” 

“Mike,” Jane interrupted him, placing her hand on his shoulder. “The past has happened. You can’t change what’s already happened. I get that you’re sorry, just accept it.” 

Mike rubbed his eye and shook his head. “I know, I’m just so sorry. I’m such an idiot. I was a terribe boyfriend.” 

Jane heaved out a long sigh. “You weren’t perfect, but neither was I,” she said.   
“No,” Mike shook his head. “You were an amazing girlfriend. I was the douchey one.”

“Nobody’s perfect, Mike,” Jane said. “We just weren’t meant to work out as a couple.” 

“Can we still be friends?” Mike asked. 

Jane nodded. “Yes, absolutely,” she answered. “I was just about to ask the same exact thing. You still were a good friend, just… not the best boyfriend.” 

“But I want to be a good boyfriend,” Mike said. “I want to be a good boyfriend to-” he stopped, realizing that he had gone too far. 

Jane tilted her head. “What is it, Mike?” she asked. 

Mike sighed. “Jane, um, you promise not to tell anyone this?” he rubbed his arm. 

“I promise,” Jane nodded. 

“And you promise, no matter what it is, you’re still gonna be my friend?” Mike asked. 

That scared Jane. “Well, if you reveal yourself as a murderer I don’t know if I’ll be able to be your friend anymore, but I don’t think you’re a murderer.” 

Mike laughed. “Okay,” he sighed.His hands clenched into fists. “I’m bi,” he blurted. 

Jane took a while to process that information. She nodded. “Okay. That’s okay. I’m still your friend, Mike.” 

Mike was getting teared up. Jane realized something, then laughed. “Of course I’d be supportive, Mike. Half of our friend group is part of the LGBTQ+ community, with Will, Lucas, and Dustin. Well,” she remembered something else. “All of our friend group is now, counting you, Max, she’s a lesbian, and me.” 

“Wait, you’re gay?” Mike asked, eyes wide. 

“Well, I’m pansexual,” Jane said. 

“Oh my god,” Mike said. He rushed into Jane’s arms and hugged her. Jane hugged back. “Wow. We’re all not straight.” 

Jane also laughed, and they pulled out of the hug. “So uh,” Mike started. “There’s something else I need to tell you.” 

“Okay,” Jane replied. “You can tell me.” 

“I like Will,” Mike told Jane. 

Jane froze. “Oh,” she said. “You like him, like, you want to date him?” 

“Yeah,” Mike nodded. “It’s just, he’s been my best friend since kindergarten, and sometimes he’s been my only friend. So I just eventually fell in love with him, I guess.” 

“Wow,” Jane started to smile. “Since you told me, I guess I have to tell you now.” 

“Tell me what?” Mike asked. 

“I like Max,” Jane said, surprisingly relieved. “I have for a while.” 

“Oh my fucking god,” Mike said. “We’re both in love with our best friends.” 

“I know, right!” Jane laughed. Mike also started to laugh. The two broke out into fits of laughter. Jane held onto Mike to not fall over. 

After both had calmed down, they shared another hug. “Wow. This conversation went a lot better than I was expecting,” Mike said. 

Jane nodded. “Same.” 

“Well,” Mike fished something out of his pocket. He grabbed and showed Jane twenty dollars. “My mom gave me this when I told her I was going to the arcade. You wanna play some games?” 

“Yes. Thank you,” Jane grabbed some dollars from Mike’s hand. 

The two headed inside. They got some coins from Steve and Robin at the counter and played some arcade games. They played ski ball and Dance Dance Revolution and they raced each other in a racing game. They each got candy and bouncy balls with their tickets. 

“I had a really fun time today,” Jane told Mike as they were walking out of the arcade. 

“Yeah, me too,” Mike said. “I’m glad we could make up.” 

“I’m glad too,” Jane nodded. 

“Hey, you want me to drive you home?” Mike asked. 

Jane nodded. “Sure. That sounds good.” 

Mike drove Jane to the apartment building in his car. They said goodbye and Jane walked up to her and her father’s apartment. 

“Did you have a good time?” Jim asked. 

“Yeah,” Jane nodded. “Yeah I had a really good time.”


	6. December 28th

The first thing Jane did when she woke up was grab her sketchbook and look at the picture she had drawn of Max. She thought she did a half-decent job, though she had never been the best at drawing realistic faces. Everything was just a little off. But she still thought it was good. 

Now that Jane and Mike were broken up, and they had made up and were still going to be friends, and Max had come out to her as a lesbian, there really wasn’t any reason why she couldn’t confess. She decided that she was going to ask Max to hang out with her today. 

While eating breakfast with Jim, Jane asked “Hey, can I invite Max over for a sleepover tonight?” 

Jim took a drink of his cup of coffee. “Sure kid, just remember thr-” 

“Three inches,” Jane nodded, finishing her father’s sentence. “Yes, I know, Dad.” 

“Thank you,” Jim said. He laughed. “You really do know me so well.” 

“I mean, I’m your daughter,” Jane said. “I think I should.” 

Jim finished his cup of coffee. “You’re right.” 

“Hey, have I told you I have a crush on Max?” Jane asked as nonchalantly as she could muster. 

Jim froze. “No,” he shook his head. “No, no you hadn’t.” 

Jane took a deep sigh. “I think I’m going to ask her to be my girlfriend today.” 

Jim nodded. “Ok. That sounds good. I hope that works out for you,” he gave his daughter a genuine smile. 

“Thanks Dad,” Jane smiled back. 

“So,” Jim got up from his chair. “I don’t have work today, so I’ll just be here. Ask me if you need anything.” 

“I will, don’t worry,” Jane also got up and walked towards her room. “Thanks Dad.” 

“I love you,” Jim said.

“Love you too,” Jane said right before closing the door. 

Jane grabbed her phone and texted Max. 

Jane: Hey!! 

Max: Hey. 

Max: So Dustin told me about what happened between you and Mike. Are you okay?

Jane: Yeah, I’m okay. We made up, don’t worry! 

Max: So, you two got back together, or you two are just friends? 

Jane: Just friends. 

Max: Okay, good! You deserved to not be with him anyway! 

Jane: Thx Max. 

Jane: So you wanna come over for a sleepover? 

Max: Sure! Hey, how about I teach you to skateboard? I got a new one for Christmas! 

Jane: Sure. I’ve always wanted to learn! It looks really cool when you do it! 

Max: Thanks!! Well, I’ll see you then!! 

Later that day, Max showed up. She knocked on the door and Jim answered it before Jane could make it out of her room. 

“Hey Mr. Hopper!” Max greeted. 

“Hey Max,” Jim said, then stepped aside so Jane could approach her. 

“It’s good to see you!” Jane said, hugging Max. 

“It’s great to see you too,” Max hugged back. 

They pulled out of the hug. “Well,” Max said. “I brought my skateboard. It’s in my car. Why don’t we go try it out in the parking lot?” 

“That sounds good,” Jane said. She turned around to face her dad. “Hey, me and Max are gonna go out to the parking lot. She’s gonna teach me to skateboard.” 

“Okay, sounds good. You girls have fun!” Jim said. 

“We will, don’t worry!” Max opened the door. 

Jane waved. Jim smiled and waved back. Max and Jane stepped outside and closed the doors. 

Jane and Max walked down to the parking lot and Max grabbed her skateboard out of her car. It had a fire design. “Your skateboard looks cool,” Jane said. 

“Thanks. My mom got it for me,” Max said. She placed it on the pavement and got on it, kicking the ground and moving a little ways before getting off. 

Jane set down on the bench in the grass. “Have you learned any cool new tricks?” she asked. 

“Yeah,” Max got on her skateboard again. She did a kickflip. 

Jane gasped. “Wow,” she said in astonishment. 

Max laughed. “I just learned how to do that. Took a lot of practice.” 

“It definitely paid off,” Jane said. “That is really cool.” 

“Have you seen the tricks that other people can do on skateboards? That shit’s way cooler than the lame stuff that I can do,” Max said. 

“It’s still really cool, Max,” Jane said.

Max smiled at Jane. “Thanks,” she said. “Now, you wanna learn or what?” 

Jane got off the bench. “Definitely,” she said. 

Jane stepped onto the skateboard and already almost fell over. Max grabbed her before she could. “Don’t worry, I’ll hold onto you.” 

Jane sighed of relief. “Thank you.” 

Jane held her arms out to get her balance. Max slowly stepped away. “There you go. Now kick.” 

Jane slowly dragged her foot across the ground. She moved some. “Now just place your foot on the ground when you want to stop,” Max said, watching proudly.

Jane did just that. She stopped moving for a moment, then headed back to where Max was standing and watching her. 

“Good job,” Max said when Jane got off the skateboard. “Do you wanna learn any tricks?” 

“No,” Jane shook her head. “I just want to get the hang of this.” 

Max nodded. “Okay,” she said. 

Jane went farther out into the parking lot. She laughed. She was really having a lot of fun. But she was having a little too much fun and not paying attention, she realized when she crashed into a dumpster. 

Jane fell off the skateboard and landed on her back on the pavement. She was pretty sure her nose was bleeding and her leg really hurt. She held her leg in her hands and muttered “Fuck. Ow.” 

Jane turned her head. Max was running towards her at full speed. She reached Jane on the floor. “Holy shit, are you okay?” she asked. 

“Ow,” Jane said a second time. “I think I sprained my leg.” 

“Okay,” Max muttered and nodded. “Let’s get you inside. I should’ve supervised you better.” 

Max helped Jane get up off the pavement and walk her inside. When she opened the door, Jim stood from his recliner and paused whatever was on the tv. “Jane, are you okay?” 

Jane nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine. I just sprained my leg.” 

“Oh god,” Jim said. “I’ll go get you an ice pack.” 

“Thank you,” Jane said as she watched her father walk off to the kitchen to grab her an ice pack. Jim came back into the room and gave Jane the ice pack. 

“Do you need to sit down?” Max asked. 

Jane nodded. “Let’s go to my room.” 

“Okay,” Max said. “Hey Mr. Hopper, we’re just gonna hang out in Jane’s room for now.” 

Jim nodded. “Sounds good.” 

Jane sat down on her bed. She pressed the ice pack to her leg. “I’m sorry,” she apologized. “I should have stayed closer and paid more attention.” 

“It’s okay,” Max said. “You’re just learning. It’ll take a while for you to get the hang of it. It did with me.” 

Jane nodded. “Okay,” she said. 

Max sat down on the bed next to her. “Um,” she started. “Are you sure you’re okay about what happened?” Jane looked confused, so Max continued. “You know… what happened with Mike?” 

“Oh,” Jane realized what Max had meant. She nodded. “Yeah. It’s perfectly fine. We actually did make up.” 

“But he was,” Max hesitated to finish. “An asshole of a boyfriend. I don’t get how he’d be any different as just a friend. He’s an asshole of a person.” 

“No he’s not,” Jane said. “Max, I get how you feel about him, but he’s a good friend to me. He was one of my first friends, really. We talked, we sorted things out, and we had a good time hanging out afterwards. Really Max, I’m okay. Don’t worry about me.” 

Max sighed and nodded. “Okay. But that was still a terrible thing to go through. And Dustin said that he was drinking. I mean, why the absolute fuck did he do that?” 

Jane nodded. “It was a rough thing to go through, yes,” she admitted. “Even though I was the one who wanted to break up with him, it was still bad. And yes, he was drunk. But he’s a kid, Max. We’re kids. I’m not going to lie and say that I wasn’t tempted to also try the beer myself.” 

Max rubbed Jane’s back. “I don’t even know why I’m arguing with you over this,” she shook her head. “You’re the one who went through all that. You’re the person who knows you better than anyone else does. I’m sorry,” she apologized. 

“It’s okay,” Jane said. “You’re just worried for me. I get it.” 

“Yeah,” Max nodded. “I really am worried for you, Jane. You’re my best friend.” 

Those words stung in Jane’s chest. She ignored the pain. “You’re my best friend too, Max,” she forced a smile, wanting to call Max so much more. “I’m so lucky to have you as my friend.” 

“Aw, I’m lucky to be friends with you too,” Max rubbed Jane’s back. Jane’s leg was feeling better already. “So, what do you want to do?” 

“Hmm, I don’t know,” Jane thought about what they could do. Nothing came to mind immediately. 

“Oh, I know!” Max said. “How about we play Truth or Dare?” 

Jane snorted. “Truth or Dare? Really?” 

“Why not?” Max shrugged. She really did have a point. 

“I haven’t played that in ages,” Jane said. 

“Me neither,” Max said. “Let’s do it!” 

“Let’s do it!” Jane repeated. The two girls laughed. 

Max crossed her legs and turned to face Jane. Jane sat in a position where she could still press the ice pack to her leg. “Okay, who’s gonna go first?” Max asked. 

“I will!” Jane shouted. “Truth or Dare, Max?” 

Max thought for a moment. “Truth,” she answered. 

Jane looked around the room for ideas of what Max’s truth question could be. She had never been very good at coming up with that kind of stuff. Then she thought of something. “Is it true that you have a crush on someone?” 

Max sighed and clenched her hands into fists. “I have to answer truthfully, don’t I?” Jane nodded. “Fine. Yes, I do have a crush on someone.” 

Jane smiled. Who could it be? Was it her? She really wanted it to be her. “Who is it?” 

“Hey!” Max called. “You didn’t say that I have to tell you who it was, just if I did or not!” 

Jane grunted. “That is true!” she admitted. “Alright, fine, you don’t have to tell me!” Both girls broke out into laughing fits. 

“Alright, it’s my turn!” Max held up her hand. “Truth or Dare, Jane?” 

Jane, for some odd reason, felt brave. “Dare,” she said, uncharacteristically sure with her answer. 

“Dare! Ooh, this is gonna be fun!” Max rubbed her hands together. She looked around Jane’s room for ideas. She noticed Jane’s sketchbook sitting on the floor. “I dare you to let me flip through your sketchbook!” 

“Aw, come on!” Jane complained. Max knew how Jane had never shown anyone her artwork. She liked her drawings to be private. But they had both agreed that they had to do it. She got up from the bed with no trouble, completely forgetting about the aching in her leg and not feeling it, and grabbed her sketchbook. “Can I just show you one picture!” 

“No,” Max shook her head. “I said that I can flip through it!” 

“Ugh, fine,” Jane reluctantly gave Max her sketchbook. Max snickered as she opened it to the first page. 

Jane cringed as she imagined the thoughts going through Max’s mind. Her art was horrible, she knew it. Suddenly, Max’s eyes widened at one of her drawings. She pointed to it. “Is- is that me?” she asked. 

“Shit,” Jane said as quietly as she could. She had hoped that Jane wouldn’t see that drawing. She nodded. “Yeah, it is.” 

“Holy cow, that’s really good Jane!” Max said in marvel, which shocked Jane. 

“You really think it’s that good?” Jane asked. 

Max nodded, her grin wide and beaming. “Yeah, definitely. It really looks like me!” 

Jane blushed. “Thank you,” she said. 

Max placed Jane’s sketchbook aside. “Alright, it’s your turn!” 

“Okay,” Jane said. “Truth or Dare?” 

“Dare,” Max said. 

Jane did her best evil laugh, which Max giggled at. She looked down at her lap and pondered what she could ask Max to do. Then, like a light bulb just appeared over her head, she got an idea. She didn’t know how Max was going to react, but she hadn’t thought about that. “I dare you to kiss me.” 

Max leaned back. “What?” 

Jane was suddenly starting to regret saying that. “Never mind, you don’t have to,” she quickly took it back. “I don’t even know why I said that, I just thought-” 

Jane was interrupted by Max’s lips on hers. It felt just as good, maybe even better, than she had always imagined. She could see splashes of color in her vision. Max’s lips tasted like strawberries and chocolate and she felt a feeling she couldn’t even describe. It was heavenly. 

Max pulled back. She gave Jane a shy smile. “I’ve been wanting to do that for a long time now,” she admitted. 

Jane was too happy at how the situation had turned out that she couldn’t register the shock. “I bet I’ve been wanting to do that for even longer.” 

Max leaned in. “You wanna do that again?” 

Jane leaned in as well. “More than anything. 

Max surged forward, connecting their lips passionately. She sat her hands on Jane’s hips while Jane ran her fingers through Max’s hair. Her hair was so soft. She tugged at the hair as her tongue entered Max’s mouth. They moved closer to each other, their bodies pressing up against each other. Jane couldn’t believe that this was happening. It was the best feeling in the world. 

“HEY, WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT THREE INCHES?!” Jim suddenly slammed the door open, causing the girls to quickly move apart. But Jim had definitely seen them. He stood there in front of the door, unable to move. 

Jane smiled awkwardly. “Hey Dad. Sorry I forgot, the door must’ve shut by itself.” 

“I, uh,” Jim pointed at the two of them. “I’m glad your plan to ask her out worked,” he smiled. “Three inches,” he repeated, stepping out of the room and closing the door but leaving three inches open as always. 

“So,” Max said, and Jane laughed. “We’re girlfriends?” 

“Yeah,” Jane nodded. “Girlfriends sounds good.” 

Jane and Max cuddled, laughed, and kissed the rest of the night. They watched movies and ate popcorn that Jim had made for them. Max stretched her arms and yawned. “Bedtime?” she asked. 

“Bedtime,” Jane agreed. 

They got ready and laid down next to each other in bed. “I love you,” Jane said. 

Max smiled and kissed Jane’s forehead. “I love you too. Goodnight, babe,” she said, closing her eyes. 

“Goodnight, babe,” Jane said, also closing her eyes. 

They were both asleep in minutes, holding onto each other’s hands.


	7. December 29th

Jane woke up tightly holding onto Max’s hand. She rubbed her eyes with her free hand and blinked to see Max’s face clearer. She was absolutely beautiful in peaceful slumber. Jane just watched her sleep, with no real desire to get up, until Max also opened her eyes. “Good morning,” she said tiredly with a smile. 

“Good morning,” Jane said back. She suddenly remembered what had happened the previous night. “So, what happened last night, did that actually happen, or was that just a dream?” 

Max leaned forward and pressed a soft, careful kiss to Jane’s lips. “I’m pretty sure that actually happened.” 

Jane’s heart leaped in her chest. She had finally gotten the girl of her dreams. “Awesome,” she said and leaned in for another kiss. 

The two girls got up from the bed and got ready in the bathroom. They walked out of Jane’s room, hand in hand, to see Jim sitting on his recliner. “Morning, girls,” he said.

“Good morning,” Jane and Max chorused. 

“Did you see outside?” Jim asked, pointing to the window. 

Jane and Max shook their heads. “No, we didn’t,” Jane answered. 

“What’s happening out there?” Max asked. 

“You two go and see for yourselves,” Jim said, still pointing to the window. 

The girls did exactly that. They ran over to the window and gasped with delight when they saw the parking lot, covered with snow. It hadn’t snowed in Hawkins since last winter, and it wasn’t this much. The snow was thick and stuck to everything. “Wow,” Jane said out of amazement. 

“Oh my god,” Max said. She didn’t let go of Jane’s hand. 

“It’s so pretty,” Jane said. She stuck her hand out and ran her hand across the window. Snow was still falling. 

Max smiled at Jane. “How about after breakfast we go out and play in it?” 

Jane smiled back. “That sounds like a great idea, babe,” it still felt weird calling Max babe. Not wrong, but weird. 

“Aw, lovebirds,” Jim said from the chair behind them. Jane and Max turned around, still not breaking their hands apart. 

“Shut up,” Max muttered, blushing. 

Jane rolled her eyes. “Like you’re one to talk,” she said. “I have to watch you and Joyce make out all the damn time.” 

“Hey, watch your tone, kid,” Jim laughed. 

The three sat at the table and had breakfast together. Waffles, once again. After breakfast, Jane’s phone rang. She grabbed her phone and saw that Mike was calling her. “It’s Mike,” she told her father and Max, then held her phone against her ear. 

“Hey Jane!” Mike greeted. 

“Hey Mike,” Jane said back. 

“Did you see that it’s snowing outside?” Mike asked. 

Jane nodded. “Yeah, I did.” 

“It’s the first time it’s snowed this thick in years,” Mike said. Jane said nothing in return, so Mike continued. “Anyway, would you want to come over to my house later? I’m inviting all the others, I want to have a snowball fight with all the snow outside.” 

“Cool!” Jane said. “I’ll definitely come. Actually, I’m with Max right now, let me ask her,” she pulled the phone away from her ear and turned to Max right next to her. “Hey Max, Mike’s inviting us all to his house. Wants to have a snowball fight and stuff. You wanna come?” 

“Sure,” Max said. “Sounds like fun.” 

“Great!” Jane beamed. She held her phone against her ear again. “Max says she’ll be there.” 

“Cool! I was thinking about 1 maybe?” 

“1 sounds good,” Jane confirmed. “Well, I’ll see you then! Bye!” 

Jane hung up the phone. “That sounds like fun,” Jim nodded. “I hope you two have fun at Mike’s house.” 

“We will,” Jane said. “Don’t worry.” 

Jane and Max got dressed into warmer clothes and more layers and headed out to the parking lot. They tried to make a snowman, but failed. 

Before they left, they headed back into the apartment. Max was going to drive Jane to Mike’s house in her car. “We’re heading off to Mike’s house!” Jane waved to her father. “Bye Dad!” 

“Bye!” Jim waved back, and Max shut the door. 

Max and Jane drove to Mike’s house in Max’s car. When they got there, Jane knocked on the door. Mike answered it. 

“Jane! Max! Hey!” Mike greeted. “Come on in!” he stepped out of the way for the two girls to walk in. 

Jane watched Max walk away to talk to the others. Jane stayed with Mike. “So,” Mike asked. “Did you confess to Max?” 

Jane nodded. “Yep, I did. She’s my girlfriend now.” 

“Oh my god, congrats!” Mike beamed. “I asked Will out. We’re dating now.” 

“Wow, good for you!” Jane said. She patted Mike’s shoulder. 

“Yeah,” Mike blushed and put his hands in his pockets. “I’m really happy,” he looked over at Will, who had just entered the room talking to Dustin, Lucas, and Max. 

“I’m really happy too,” Jane looked over at Max. “She’s just so amazing.” 

The two stared at their partners, entranced, until they blinked and snapped out of it. They awkwardly laughed and headed over to the group. 

“Hey Jane!” Dustin smiled. Jane noticed that he was holding onto Lucas’ hand. 

“Hey Dustin,” Jane replied. “Hey guys.” 

“Oh, hey Jane!” Will said. 

Jane turned to Mike. “Where’s Nancy?” she asked. 

“Probably just up in her room doing whatever she does in there,” Mike said. 

“Okay,” Jane said. “And you dad?” 

Mike shrugged. “In his recliner, asleep, like he always is,” he sighed, exhausted. 

Mrs. Wheeler walked into the room where the group was chatting. “Hey guys!” she greeted warmly. “I’m glad you all could make it.” 

“Hey Mrs. Wheeler,” Lucas said. 

“Well,” Mrs. Wheeler started, clearly worn out. “I bought a pizza for dinner. I’m assuming you all have eaten lunch, but if you haven’t, I bought some frozen meals. They’re in the fridge. Help yourself to any drinks. We’ve got Coca Cola and lemonade and Sprite, if you want any.” 

“This is all very nice of you, Mrs. Wheeler. Thank you,” Jane said. 

“Well, you’re welcome!” Mrs. Wheeler said. “I just want Mike’s friends to feel welcome. After,” she glared at Mike. “The party.” 

Jane gulped and everyone looked at her. Great. She still had to be reminded of that night.

“I am hungry,” Dustin said, placing a hand on his stomach. “I didn’t get to eat any lunch.” 

“Now that I think about it, neither did we, Jane,” Max pointed at Jane. 

Jane suddenly remembered. She had somehow forgotten about how hungry she was. “Yeah. Let’s have some lunch.” 

Lucas, Will, and Mike sat at the kitchen table and waited for Dustin, Jane, and Max to make their frozen meals. Jane had frozen macaroni and cheese. She carried it and sat down in a spot between Mike and Lucas. 

They ate. The mac and cheese was delicious for a frozen meal. They all talked and laughed and Jane was reminded of why she was such close friends with these guys. They were so much fun to hang out with and so nice to her, especially back when no one else was. At one time, she was laughing so hard she couldn’t breathe. 

Afterwards, Mike got off his chair and asked “Did everyone bring proper snow clothes?” 

Jane nodded. She had brought the thickest coat she owned. Max didn’t, but she did have a hoodie and a jacket on. “Yeah, I did,” Will answered and the rest of the group nodded. 

“Great,” Mike clasped his hands together. “Let’s head outside.” 

The group got dressed into their multiple layers and went outside into the snow. They spent a while just playing in it, till Mike yelled “Snowball fight! Let’s pick teams!” 

“So, are we gonna have two or three teams?” Max asked. 

“Good question,” Mike pointed at Max. He pondered for a moment. “What should we do? I really don’t know,” he admitted. 

“Well, if we have three teams of two, then we could all be on a team with our partners,” Jane pointed out. She really wanted to be on a team with her girlfriend. She thought that Max would probably have a really good arm. 

“That is true,” Lucas nodded. “But if we have two teams of three, we have more of a chance of winning. You know, more people on each team.” 

Lucas had made a very good point. “I agree with Lucas,” Mike said. “I think we should do two teams. Agreed?” 

Everyone nodded in return. “Alright,” Mike nodded. “So, who’s gonna be on which team?” 

“I want to be on a team with Lucas!” Dustin abruptly yelled, grabbing tightly onto Lucas’ hand. Lucas laughed and facepalmed to hide his blushing face. 

“And I’ll be on a team with Max,” Jane hesitated to speak. Max shot her girlfriend an appreciative smile 

There was silence for a while. “I guess I’ll be with Jane and Max,” Will said. 

“Then I’ll be with Lucas and Dustin,” Mike said. “Great.” 

The two teams separated to discuss strategies. There wasn’t enough snow to make any sort of barrier. Jane and Max waited for Will while he talked to Mike. 

“Sorry babe, but I will show you no mercy,” Will said, trying his best to be intimidating but failing. 

“Well, then if you will show me no mercy, I guess I will show none in return,” Mike said back, a little better at being intimidating.

They separated and Will walked over to Jane and Max. “So, what’s the plan?” Max asked.

“I don’t know,” Will looked over his shoulder at Mike, Dustin, and Lucas. “Do we even need a strategy?” 

Jane and Max thought about that. “That’s a good point,” Jane said. 

“Yeah, that is a good point,” Max agreed. 

“So, we’ll just charge in there, I guess?” Will shrugged. 

Jane and Max shared a look. “I guess,” they both said in unison. 

“Great,” Will made a thumbs up. They turned around to look at the other team, who looked ready. “You guys ready?” 

“Yep!” Mike yelled back, showing him a thumbs up. “Alright. Get your snowballs ready.” 

Jane picked up some snow off the ground and molded it into a ball. She held it in his hand. “Three,” Mike started to count. She watched Max and Will make snowballs. “Two. One!” 

Jane immediately threw her snowball, barely missing Dustin. She crouched down to make another one when she was hit in the shoulder by a snowball Lucas had thrown. He laughed and pumped his fists. But he was interrupted by Max throwing a snowball at his chest. He got mad and immediately made another snowball. 

With the second snowball she had made, Jane threw it at Mike. It hit his shoulder. She cheered and Will immediately threw another one at Mike. 

Jane turned over to Max. She had made a supply of snowballs for them and was chucking them at the other team, rarely missing. Jane ran over and grabbed one from the pile and threw it at Dustin. It missed and Dustin flipped her off. But Max saw this, said “Got you babe,” and threw a snowball right at his chest. 

Lucas noticed the snowball that Max had thrown at Dustin’s chest and got mad. He quickly made a snowball, getting hit in the back by Will in the process, and threw it as hard as he could. It flew towards Will, but it was too late to do anything as they saw that it hit Will right in the eye. 

Will fell down on the ground, his hand held over his eye. “SHIT! OW!” he yelled in pain. Everyone rushed over to help him. Jane and Mike were the first ones there. 

“Hey, hey, are you okay?” Mike asked. 

Will didn’t reply. He just cried. “Shit,” Mike muttered under his breath.

Jane stood up. “I’ll go get Mike’s mom,” she told the others. She ran into the house and found Mrs. Wheeler. 

“Mrs. Wheeler!” Jane called. “Will’s hurt. Lucas accidentally hit him in the eye with a snowball.” 

Mrs. Wheeler gasped. “Holy shit,” she said. She quickly put on her jacket and hurried out the door, Jane following close behind. 

Mike held Will in his arms, whispering to him “Shh, shh, it’s okay, it’s okay.” 

Mrs. Wheeler ran over. “Will! What happened?”   
“I-I accidentally hit him in the eye with a snowball too hard. I’m really sorry,” Lucas apologized. 

Will fell into Mrs. Wheeler’s arms. He cried into her shoulder. She comforted him. “Oh, let’s get you inside.” 

They all went inside. Mrs. Wheeler gave Will an ice pack to hold over his eye. He was feeling better, though he said it still hurt. They decided to just hang out in Mike’s room.   
When they were walking to Mike’s room, Nancy opened her bedroom door and was surprised to see all the kids there. “Hey guys,” she said. 

“Hey Nancy,” Jane said. 

Nancy noticed Will’s eye. “Oh my god, what happened?” she asked. 

“Lucas accidentally hit him in the eye with a snowball. We were having a snowball fight,” Dustin explained. 

“Accidentally,” Lucas repeated. He placed a hand on Will’s shoulder. “Really, man, I am sorry.” 

“I know you are,” Will said. “I forgive you.” 

“Okay,” Nancy said. “Well, I hope your eye feels better soon, Will. Good to see you guys,” she waved before closing the door. 

In Mike’s room, he set up his switch. They took turns fighting each other in Smash Ultimate. Max and Mike were really good at the game and always won, so when they faced each other it was suspenseful. Mike won that battle. Jane wasn’t very good at first, but got better at the controls and eventually beat both Dustin and Will. It was a lot of fun. 

After they did that for a while, they decided to watch a movie. After running a vote, they decided on the first Star Wars movie. They all huddled up on Mike’s bed. Jane was cuddling with Max, her head leaning on Max’s shoulder and her arms wrapped around Max’s body. Will sat close to Jane, pressed up against and holding hands with Mike. Dustin and Lucas sat on their other side. They were huddling underneath a blanket. 

So much had happened to Jane during this first week of Winter Break. Her father had proposed to Joyce, Christmas happened, her and Mike broke up, and she came out to everyone and got together with Max. She loved her friends, she loved her girlfriend, and she loved her father. She was so happy. She didn't want it to end. But she knew it wouldn’t really end. She had the people she loved and cared about, and that was all she needed. 

Jane redirected her focus to the TV, cherishing the moment and the people she was with, because that was really all that mattered.


End file.
